Machine for wiring sheet-metal articles.



. No. 697,636. 'iPatentwApnlm |902.: .|.LEcLEnc, H. TREMBLAY & A.LALuMlnE. y MACHINE FUR WIRING SHEET METAL ARTICLES.

led July 6, 1901.)

. (Application 3 sheets-sheet I. 'Y

(un Model.;

Il h Il mi nomme PETER: om rumom'no.. wmmucm. D. u.

No. 697,636. I Patented Apr. I5, I902.

' .L LEcLEnc, H. TREMBLAY E A. LILLUMIRE.

MACHINE FOR WIRING SHEET METAL ARTICLES.

(Application med .my c, 1901.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. 697.636. Paltented Apr. I5, |902. l J. LECLERC, H. TREMBLAY &. A.LALUMIRE. MACHINE FOB WIRING SHEET METAL ARTICLES.

(Applimian md #my e, 1991.)

Attc-nvmeys `1 UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH LECLERC, HONORE TREMBLAY,AND ANTOINE LALUMIRE, OF MONTREAL,CANADA.

MACHINE FOR WIRINGSHEET-METAL ARTICLES.

SPECIFICATION fOl'miIlg' part 0f Letters Patent N0. 697,636, datdAprl15, 1902. Application filed July 6, 1901. Serial No. 67,274. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: p

Be it known that we, JOSEIPH LECLERC and HONORE TREMBLAY, of Montreal,and AN- TOINE'LALUMIRE, of Point St.Char1es, Hochelaga county, Provinceo f Quebec, Canada, subjects of the King of Great Britain, have inventedycertain new and useful Improve-v ments in Machines for WiringSheet-Metal Articles and we do hereby declare that the following isafull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same. Y v- Our inventionrelates to improvements in machines forwiring sheet-metal articles, such as tin pails, pans, and the like; andthe object that we have in View is the provision of a self-adjustingmechanism which will secu'rely hold the article and the wirein properrelation one to the other andvwill operate so as to bend or double theedge of the vessel or article automatically around the wire, so as toeect an intimate union of the parts.

One of the important features of our invention is a female die havingmeans for receiving and retaining the article and provided with a seriesof yieldable die-sections capable of limited play in radially-inclineddirections and disposed in matching relation, so as to abut when undercompression, so as to afford a practically continuous die recess orgroove, which serves to bend the edge of the vessel.

Another feature of our invention is a plu nger or male die having a headand a series of radiallymovable Adie members adapted to yield inwardlyunder pressure and provided with ribs arranged to register, so as toform a male-die ring adapted to the recess or groove of the femaledie.This male die or plunger has its sections further provided with a grooveto deflect the edge of the vessel. It carries yieldable stems arrangedto press the female die-sections together and also capable of giving tothe highest pressure, and it is also equipped with a guide or centeringplate arranged to positionthe male die and to assist in clamping thearticle firmly in place.

The invention further consistsin the novel combination of devices and inthe construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinaftermore fully described and clair-lied.

ldotted line 2 2 on Fig. l.

To enable others to understand the invention, we have illustrated apreferred embodi- .ment thereof in the accompanying drawings,

forming a part'of thisspecication, and in which- Figure 1 is a planview, on an enlarged scale, of the female die. Fig. 2 isa verticaltransverse section thereof, taken in the plane of the Fig. 3 is aninverted or bottom planof the male die or plunger. Fig. 4 is asideelevation of a male die or plunger. 5 is a vertical transversesection through the male and female dies assembled in position forcooperation and with the sheetmetal article clamped in place Within thefe;- male die, so as to be retained inthe path of the male die. Fig. 6is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing the position of the partswhen the male die is partially depressed and illustrating the operationof bending the edge of a sheet-metal article around a wire. Fig. 7 is aview similar to Fig. 6, but showing the position of the parts of the twodies when the operation is finally completed. Fig. 8 is a fragmentarysectional view of a part ot' the l female die, illustrating the meansfor holding one, of the female die-sections against displacement. Fig. 9is a fragmentary sectional view lof a part of the die-shell within whichare arranged the movable sections of the female die. Fig. 10 is a detailView of a springactuated stem adapted to form one of the series which iscarried by the male die or plunger. Fig. v11 is a fragmentary sectionalView of a 'part of the male die or plunger, illustrating the means forslidably confining a section of the male die proper.

The same numerals of reference denote like parts in each of the severalfigures of the drawings.

We will rst proceed to described the female die shown by Figs. 1, 2, 5,and 6 to 9, referring to which 5 designates the die-shell, which issecured upon a suitable base-plate 6 by means of the bolts or screws 7.This die-shell is represented more clearly by Fig. 2 in the form of aninverted hollow cone having its lower end seated upon and secured to thebase-plate, and this die-shell is provided at a point intermediate ofits height with an offset or shoulder 8, which extends continu- IOOously around the inside of the shell and constitutes an annular seat fora plurality of independent die-sections, the same being indicated by thenumeral 9. These die-sections are arrangedin annular series, as shownmore clearly by Fig. 1, and they are so proportioned that they will fitsnugly within the upper enlarged portion of the die-shell, the end edgesof said die-sections being formed on lines radial to the vertical axisof the die. The die-sections are thus disposed in matching relation andwith intervening narrow spaces between the radial end edges thereof, andthese die-sections are adapted to rest upon the annular seat 8 when theyare forcibly depressed by the action of the plunger or male die, to bepresently described. Normally the die-sections 9 are held in raisedpositions and free from engagement with the annular seat by the actionof coiled springs 10, the latter being received in sockets l1, which areformed in the solid lower portion of the die-shell 5. (See Figs. 8 and9.) One or more springs may be devoted to each diesection 9, the upperends of said springs bearing against the lower faces of thediesections-and adapted to forcibly impel the latter in upward andoutward directions, as will be evident by an inspection of Figs. 1 and2. A retaining-ring or annular plate 12 is secured by screws 13 to thetop edge of the die-shell, the inner edge of said annular plateextending into the path of the die-sections and serving to positivelyretain the latter against undue upward movement. Each die-section hasits top edge or face formed on a straight line, as indicated at 14, fora part of its width; but the inner edge portion of the die-section isdepressed, so as to form the groove 15, the die-sections being arrangedwithin the die-shell in a manner for the grooves 15 therein to occupymatching relation. (See Fig. 1.)

16 designates a guide-pin which passes through a suitable opening 18 ineach of the die-sections, and the lower portion of this pin is receivedwithin a socket 19, that is provided in the solid lower portion of thedieshell at points between the spring-sockets 11. The guide-pinassociated with each die-section is cushioned by means of a spring 20,which is fitted in the socket 19 and engages with the lower extremity ofthe guide-pin, (see Fig. 8,) and this guide-pin is provided at its upperend with a feather 2l, that is received within an offset 22 provided inthe opening 18 of the die-section, thus connecting the guide-pin 16 tothe die-section in a manner to prevent the guide-pin from turning out ofposition within said section. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be seenthat a guide-pin 16 is associated with each of the series of diesections9, and the annular plate 12 is provided with a series of offset ears 23,which are formed thereon at intervals and which are disposed in the pathof the upper ends of the guide-pins 16, whereby the guideeergcee pinsare retained in position within the female die against the energy of thecushionsprings 20, thus overcoming any tendency of said cushion-springsfrom forcing the guidepins out of the sections.

The upper ends of the guide-pins 1G are -normally held by the springs 2Oabove the upper faces of the die-sections 9, and the feathers on theseseries of guide-pins are disposed quite close to the grooves ordepressions 15 in the arcuate die-sections. This relative relation ofthe guide-pins and the grooves in the die-sections provides for thesecure retention of a wire ring, which is adapted to be attached to theupper edge of a sheet-metal article by bending the latter around thewire in a manner known to the trade as wiring a sheet-metal article, andhence the springactuated pins 16 thus serve a twofold purpose in afemale die, because they assist the die-sections in holding the wirering in place within the die, and they also serve as the means forguiding the die-sections.

.As shown by Figs. 2 and 5, the base-plate 6 has a central opening 24,and to this plate is secured a centering plate or disk 25, the latterbeing attached to the base-plate by the screws 26. It will be understoodthat the inner surface of the die-shell 5 is conical, whereas the edgeof the centering-disk is vertical and is disposed in quite closerelation to the conical face of the die-shell in order to form atapering seat 27 for the lower edge of the sheet metal, the latter beingindicated by the numeral 28 in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. This sheetmetalarticle 28 may be of flaring form of the kind known as a pan7 or othervessel; but it is to be understood that we do notlimit ourselves to theparticular kind of article which may be wired by the machine of ourinvention.

We will now proceed to describe the male die or plunger, which isrepresented by Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 11 of the drawings. This maledie or plunger has a spindle 30, to which is keyed or otherwise secureda disk-shaped head 31, the latter being attached to the spindle at apoint intermediate of the length thereof, and thus allows the lowerportion of the spindle to extend below the plunger-head. On this lowerprojecting extremity of the spindle is loosely fitted a clamping-disk32, having a beveled edge lthat is adapted to closely conform to theconicity of the dieshell and the female die-sections. Said disk isfitted loosely in place on the spindle in order that the latter may passthrough the disk in the operation of the male die or plunger; but saiddisk is prevented from disengagement by a cross pin or key 33, which isattached to the lower extremity of the spindle and which lies below thedisk., A coiled spring 34.- is iitted loosely in the spindle, so as tooccupy a position between the fast head 3l and the movable clamping-disk32, and this ,spring has its end portions seated against the head andagainst the loose disk in order IOO IIO

to firmly hold the latter in engagement with the work and allow thespindle, the head, and the parts carried by the latter to have a limitedamount of play with respect to the female die without disturbingtheaction of the disk 32 in clamping the sheet-metal article 28 withinthe shell and the die-sectionsof the female die.

The head 3l of the male die or plunger is undercut to provide theannular recess 35 in the lower face thereof, and the circular edge 'ofthe head is furthermore cut inwardly, as

at 36, toproduce the projecting ange 37 at the top edge, all as clearlyshown by Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 1l. The male die proper consists of aplurality of arcuate members or sections 38, which are provided withstraight end edges cut on lines radial to the axis of the spindle 30,and these maley die members are assembled in matching relation, so as tooccupy the undercut annular recess 35 in the die-head. vSaid arcuatemale die members are movable radially with respect to the spindle 30, soas to produce a laterally-expansible male die, and said members 38 areguided in the proper directions with respect to the diehead bytheguide-pins 39, which are preferably attached tothe die members 38 andare slidably fitted inthe radial sockets 40, which are provided in thehead 3l, as clearly shown by Fig. 11. i

The arcuate members 38, which form the expansible male die,l areprovided on. their lower sideswith the beveled faces 41, withY the flatfaces 42, and with the grooves 43, as more clearlyshown by Figs. 5, 6,and 7. The grooves lie at the, intersection of the beveled and iiatfaces of the die members, and these grooves, together Vwith the faces 4142 of the several members 38, are assembled in matching relation, so asto produce a practically continuous surface on the under side ofthe maledie when the members thereof are forced inwardly Vduring the action ofthe die or plunger. v A

`The desired expansion of thearcuatemembers forming the male dieisobtained by the employment of radiallyacting springs 44,= which areinterposed between. the head 3l and the die `members 38, and, ifdesired, each spring may have one or both ends thereof housed Within asocket or sockets in order .to retain the spring against displacement.The outward movement of the male die members. is limited or arrested bya series ofstopplates 45, whichare .fastenedby screws to the edge ofthehead landwhich have their lower ends extended downwardlyinto the pathvof the die members at ,themeeting radial edges thereof, as shown more'clearly by Figs. 3 and 4, whereby the stop-plates aresecured tothehead, so as to occupy a statio-nary relation to vthe radially-movablemembers of the expansible male die or plunger.

The members 3,8 of the expansible male diehave plates 46 secured to theouter exposed edges thereof inthe manner shown-by Figs.

3 and 4,.the end edges of said vplates 46 terminating within the edgesof thestop-plates 45, (see Fig. 3,) and these plates 46 on the male diemembers are providedwith the enlarged bosses 47, the same beingchambered or hollowed, as at 48, in Figs/,5to 7, inclusive. Thcchamberedbosses are adapted to be received within the recess'36 and tolie below the iiange 37 of the die-head 31, and said bosses are closedat their upper ends, while thelower ends are open. In each boss providedon one of the male die members is slidablyhtted a stem 49, the vlowerend of which is enlarged to provide a foot 50. The upper end of the stemextends through the closed end of the chambered boss, and this stemisheld slidably in the boss by a pin 5l. The stem is pressed normallyina downward direction by means of a strongspiral spring 52, which isiitted loosely around said stem and is housed within the socket orchamber 48, wherebythe upper end of the spring may be seated against theclosed top edge of the chamberedboss, whereas the lower end of thespring rests against the foot 50.

Although we have shown and described the male die members as havingtheplates 46 secured thereto we do not limit ourselveslto this preciseconstruction, because it isevident that the chamberedbosses 48 may be`made as integral parts ofthe die members38, or theymay be attachedthereto byany equiv- Y alent means.

In Figs. l and 2 of .the drawings we have shown the female die asconsistingof eight yieldable diesections 9. The male die or plunger isprovided with a similar'number of die members 38, each of which carriesan independent spring-actuated stem 49. It is thus .evident thata seriesof eight stems are provided on thenpper die orplunger, and these stemsare so positioned on Athemale die that when the latter is brought intooperative relation to the female die the stems 49 will be presented tothe sections 9 of the female die in a kmanner Iforthefoot 50 of the.series of stems to span. the radial linesofdi- Visionbetween thesections 9 ofthe female die. Atthe same, time l'the iiat ,faces 42 andthe grooves 43 of thev membersforming the male die will be brought intocooperative relationto the grooved inner edges 150i the sections 9forming thejfemale die, while the beveled portion 41 ofthe male diemembers are IOO adapted .to extend into the vspace inclosed, by

position for the lower edge to enter the tapering seat 27 of the femaledie, whereas the upper edge of the article extends above the groovedface l5 of the female die-sections 9, all as clearly shown by Fig. 5. Aring of wire or other suitable material (indicated at 29) is placed inthe grooves l5 of the female die-sections, so as to be held in closecontact with the metallic article 28 by the feathers 2l of theguide-pins 16, which have operative relation to the female die-sections9, and thus the article 28 and the Wire ring 29 are retained in thefemale die, so as to lie in the path of the plunger or male die. On thedownward movement of the plunger the disk 32 first enters the male die,so as to engage with the article 28, and thereby cooperate with thefemale die in firmly clamping the article in place, said disk 32 thusoccupying a stationary relation to the female die and to the spindle 30of the male die, whereby the work will be clamped in place during theoperation of bending or folding the edge 28 around the wire ring 29. Onthe continued downward movement of the male die or plunger the bevelededges 4l of the male die members enter the space inclosed by the femaledie members, and the grooved faces 43 of the male die members thusengage with the top edge of the sheet-metal article 28. (See Fig. 5.) Asthe male die continues to descend its sections 38 are graduallycompressed and the grooved edges 45 of said sections or members 38 turnover the edge of the article 28, so as to partially inclose the wire, asrepresented by Fig. G, the sections 9 of the female die graduallyyielding to the continued descent of the male die until the springs l0are compressed and the die members 9 firmly rest upon the annular seat 8of the die-shell. During this depression of the female die members andthe inward movement of the male die members 38 the springs 52 of thestems 49, which rest upon the adjacent edges of the sections 9 formingthe female die, retain their normal positions, because the strong spiralsprings 52 are employed; but on the final period of the downward thrustof the male die or plunger these stems slide through the chamber-edbosses 47, and all of the sections or members of the two dies are forcedor drawn firmly together, so as to bend or crimp the edge of the article28 tightly around the wire ring 29, as represented by Fig. 7. The workof wiring the article is now completed and the plunger or male die iswithdrawn in an upward direction, thereby releasing the article 28 fromthe male die and the disk 32. The sections 9 of the female die are alsoreleased and they tend to slightly lift the work or article 28, so as tofree it from close frictional engagement with the female die, whereby onthe withdrawal of the male die the article may easily be removed fromthe machine.

Changes within the scope of the appended claims may be made in the formand proportion cf some of the parts, while their essential features areretained and the spirit of the invention is embodied. Hence we do notdesire to be limited to the precise form of all the parts as shown,reserving the right to Vary therefrom.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new is` l. In amachine for wiring sheet-metal articles, cooperating male) and femaledies, the female die having spring-cushioned yieldable sections movableupwardly on diverging lines and each provided with means for retaining awire in position on the active face thereof, as set forth.

2. In a machine for wiring sheet-metal articles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said female die provided with yieldable stems for retaininga wire ring adjacent to a deflecting or bending surface of the die,substantially as described.

3. In a machine for wiring sheet-metal articles,cooperating male andfemale dies, said female die comprising a common die-shell, a series ofdie members yieldably confined within said shell, and means forretaining a Wire ring in operative position relative to the die members,substantially as set forth.

4E. In a machine for wiring sheet-metal articles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said female die comprising a series of yieldable sectionseach having a wire-ring-retaining means, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine for wiring sheet-metal a1'- ticles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said female die comprising a series of yieldable sectionsand provided with yieldable pins adapted to retain a wire ring in properrelation to .the female die, substantially as set forth.

o. In a machine for wiring sheet-metal articles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said female die comprising a series of spring-actuated diemembers disposed in matching relation, and said male die provided withyieldable stems arranged at intervals thereon and adapted to rest uponand to span the spaces between the sections of the female die when thetwo dies are brought into cooperating relation, substantially as setforth.

7. In a machine for wiring sheet-metal articles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said female die comprising a common die-shell, a series ofspring-seated die members arranged in matching relation within saiddie-shell, a series of wire-ring retainers, and means for holding theretainers of the die-sections in proper relation, substantially as setforth.

8. In a machine forwiringsheet-metalarticles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said female die consisting of a flared die-shell providedwith an internal plate or disk which forms a seat for a sheet-metalarticle, a series of die-sections within the shell, and ring-retainingmeans cooperating with said die-sections, substantially as set forth.

9. In a machine for wiringsheet-metal articles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said ICO female die comprising a die-shell having aninternal seat and a series of yieldable sections adapted to said seat,said male die provided with a central stem and a spring-actuatedclamping-disk arranged to enter the space formed by the series ofmembers of the female die, said disk in the cooperative positions of thetwo dies adapted to span the spaces between the internal seat and thefemale die members on the depression of the lattlr to occupy the seat,substantially as set fort 10. In a machine for wiring sheet-metalarticles, coperating male and female dies, said female die havingmovable spring-seated members seated -in a die-shell, said male diecomprising a suitable head, and a plurality ofarcuate members yieldablymounted on the head and each havinga grooved working face, and a seriesof yieldable stems carried by said arcuate members of the male die andarranged to be seated-upon the movable members of the female die,substantially as described.

1l. In a machine for wiring sheetmetal articles, coperating male andfemale dies, said female die having down wardly-yieldin g members,saidzmale die comprising a series of radially-yieldable arcuate memberseach having the external chambered bosses, a series of vertical stemsfitted in said bosses and provided with feet to rest upon' the femaledie members, and cushion-springs for said stems, substantially as setforth.

12. Inamachineforwiringsheet-metalarticles, coperating male and femaledies, said female die having downwardly yieldable members normally heldin raised divergent relation, and said male die provided withradiallyexpansible die members and with spring-cushioned vertical stemsadapted to be seated upon the female die members and to span the spacesbetween the same, as set forth.

13. In a machine for wiring sheet-metal articles, cooperating male andfemale dies, said male die comprising a head, a series of arcuatemembers yieldably confined on the head, v

cles, cooperating male and female dies, the

female die having yieldable members arranged for movement on divergentlines, and the male die. comprising a head, a series of radially-movableyieldable members confined on-the head and disposed in coperativerelation. to the female die, chambered bosses carried bythemembers ofthe male die, and spring-backed stems fitted in the bosses and arrangedto rest uponthe sections of the female die, substantially as set forth.

16. Ina machine for wiring sheet-metal articles, a female die providedwith a bending or deflecting groove, and a series of yieldable stemsseated in saiddie and normally eX- posed above the active face thereofin coperative relation to the groove therein, combined with a male dieor plunger, substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOSEPH LECLERC. HONORE TREMBLAY. ANTOINE LALUMIERE.

, Witnesses:

J. A. MARION, T. MYNARD.

